{"id":718,"date":"2026-01-16T13:54:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T13:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/?p=718"},"modified":"2026-03-11T12:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:06:43","slug":"economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <em>WDEF<\/em> report highlighted a new economic forecast from the UTC Center for Regional Economic Research predicting that job growth in the Chattanooga area will remain sluggish through much of 2026, with about 5,000 new jobs expected \u2014 below the region\u2019s average pace. Dr. Howard Wall noted that national economic trends and slow manufacturing contribute to the softness, but investment in emerging technologies could help strengthen future growth.&gt;&gt;&gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wdef.com\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/\">Read More<\/a>&gt;&gt;&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The WDEF report highlighted a new economic forecast from the UTC Center for Regional Economic Research predicting that job growth in the Chattanooga area will remain sluggish through much of 2026, with about 5,000 new jobs expected \u2014 below the region\u2019s average pace. Dr. Howard Wall noted that national economic trends and slow manufacturing contribute&hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><span><a class=\"more-link button text\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/\"><span>Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2031,"featured_media":68,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,60,25,581,22,46],"tags":[145,360],"class_list":{"0":"post-718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gary-w-rollins-college-of-business","8":"category-media","9":"category-research","10":"category-subject-matter-expert","11":"category-topic","12":"category-wdef-tv","13":"tag-center-for-regional-economic-research","14":"tag-dr-howard-wall","15":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area - UTC in the Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area - UTC in the Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The WDEF report highlighted a new economic forecast from the UTC Center for Regional Economic Research predicting that job growth in the Chattanooga area will remain sluggish through much of 2026, with about 5,000 new jobs expected \u2014 below the region\u2019s average pace. Dr. Howard Wall noted that national economic trends and slow manufacturing contribute&hellip; Continue Reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UTC in the Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-16T13:54:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T12:06:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"475\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"JAy Blackman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"WDEF-TV\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"JAy Blackman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3\"},\"headline\":\"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-16T13:54:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-11T12:06:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":83,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Center for Regional Economic Research\",\"Dr. Howard Wall\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Gary W. Rollins College of Business\",\"Media\",\"Research\",\"Subject Matter Expert\",\"Topic\",\"WDEF-TV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/\",\"name\":\"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area - UTC in the Media\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-16T13:54:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-11T12:06:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/162\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1\",\"width\":475,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"News 12 Now\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/16\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC in the Media\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/in-the-media\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3\",\"name\":\"JAy Blackman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"JAy Blackman\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wdef.com\\\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area - UTC in the Media","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area - UTC in the Media","og_description":"The WDEF report highlighted a new economic forecast from the UTC Center for Regional Economic Research predicting that job growth in the Chattanooga area will remain sluggish through much of 2026, with about 5,000 new jobs expected \u2014 below the region\u2019s average pace. Dr. Howard Wall noted that national economic trends and slow manufacturing contribute&hellip; Continue Reading","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/","og_site_name":"UTC in the Media","article_published_time":"2026-01-16T13:54:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-11T12:06:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":475,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"JAy Blackman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"WDEF-TV","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/"},"author":{"name":"JAy Blackman","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#\/schema\/person\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3"},"headline":"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area","datePublished":"2026-01-16T13:54:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-11T12:06:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/"},"wordCount":83,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","keywords":["Center for Regional Economic Research","Dr. Howard Wall"],"articleSection":["Gary W. Rollins College of Business","Media","Research","Subject Matter Expert","Topic","WDEF-TV"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/","name":"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area - UTC in the Media","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-01-16T13:54:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-11T12:06:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#\/schema\/person\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","width":475,"height":400,"caption":"News 12 Now"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/2026\/01\/16\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Economic report predicts sluggish job growth in Chattanooga area"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/","name":"UTC in the Media","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/#\/schema\/person\/97203dc7c03b98f61f30ae1dcb6730c3","name":"JAy Blackman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42dd24896b391a0d483f6b42d78b2ab3309769f545a50efbf25cc3808aa29180?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"JAy Blackman"},"url":"https:\/\/www.wdef.com\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg?resize=475%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg?resize=475%2C400&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"WDEF-TV","author_link":"https:\/\/www.wdef.com\/economic-report-predicts-sluggish-job-growth-in-chattanooga-area\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/162\/2025\/07\/WDEF-TV.jpg?fit=475%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":719,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions\/719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/in-the-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}